Katie Leclerc on 'Switched at Birth' Premiere: 'I Never Saw This Coming'

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The Switched at Birth summer premiere debuts tonight on ABC Family and Katie Leclerc (who, by the way, has a very pleasant speaking voice) chatted with ETonline, dropping clues as to what fans can look forward to in the next season.

Katie's character, Daphne Vasquez, may have been the only character who seemed to take a step in a positive direction in the spring finale, but Katie promised some twists and turns ahead that no one will see coming.

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ETonline: What's next for Daphne?
Katie: Daphne is -- at the top of the season -- very affected by what happened at the design center. The brick coming through the window definitely freaked her out. It also scared her on her mother's behalf. She's a little nervous so she's going to seek out the guy who threw the brick through the window, which might not be a good thing because this kid's kind of a thug. So she's going to go confront a gangster and takes Bey with her, because she's not a complete idiot, and kind of puts herself in a compromising position. Thankfully she's got wits about her and it's not the end of the road, but she's got some nerve. There's a strong backbone. As the season continues, there's drama with Campbell, a lot going on at the free clinic, and then an incredibly tragic event happens and for Daphne her world is completely rocked. It will never be the same... As an actor I never saw the way my character's storyline is going. I never saw this coming. It's terrifying and dangerous and crazy and so much fun to play as an actor.

ETonline: What direction do you think Daphne will go in career-wise?
Katie: I think she loses some direction this season. I love the idea of Daphne becoming a doctor. I think that it's a potentially very inspiring storyline for young deaf kids who watch the show or teenagers who watch the show or even adults to go 'this 17-year-old who's deaf thinks that she can be a doctor, but has to face her fears before that can be accomplished.' Other than her own holding herself back, there's no reason why she couldn't be a doctor, and I think that that's a cool message not only to send to deaf kids but to everybody -- that deaf people can do whatever they want to do, and it doesn't mean that they have to sit in a box. They can build their own box, and I think that's really cool. We've tried to show that from the beginning and I like the idea of her becoming a doctor.

ETonline: Is Daphne happy with choosing Campbell over Jorge?
Katie: She's kind of a people pleaser. She definitely got a little bit of boy crazy in her. I think that it was a little bit unsettling for her when Jorge comes in and sees her and Campbell kissing in the supply closet -- I think that hurt her. So she has to accept the fact that she hurt him and she's kinda not really allowed to feel that pain because it's kinda his pain to feel. I think once she processes that and goes forward with Campbell, things will be peachy keen.

ETonline: What do you think the show says about nature vs nurture and which one weighs heavier on human development?
Katie: It's a very interesting conversation. We try to show it in a unique way. A lot of the person that we end up becoming is our environment and our upbringing. There's just certain things that are physically unchangeable -- like the fact that Daphne is good at sports and Bay is not. In my opinion I think nurture is very developmentally strong. We become our environment. We become the thoughts that we have. For me the nurture is stronger than the nature.